Every day, Bill Dunne deals with overlapping, even conflicting, interests as the GC of Civitas Capital Management — deal team members wanting to close on our latest endeavor, our international team needing immediate answers on the intricacies of marketing laws in up to 40 countries. But Dunne worked day and night for several months reading and analyzing hundreds and hundreds of pages of Securities and Exchange Commission regulations and guidelines to successfully register Civitas as an official investment advisor.
The achievement had a huge impact on Citivas’ business operations. As a result, Dunne is a finalist for the 2022 DFW Corporate Counsel Award for General Counsel of the Year for a Solo Legal Department.
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Q&A: Jonathan Koh of MB2 Dental
For Premium Subscribers MB2 Dental Associate GC Jonathan Koh discusses how he selects outside counsel, mistakes that legal departments make regarding diversity and inclusion and the role GCs play in
MB2 Dental’s Jonathan Koh is ‘The Fixer’
Jonathan Koh won his first court case in the sixth grade when he was the prosecutor in a mock trial in a speeding case. He was hooked on becoming a lawyer. Two decades later, Koh is the assistant GC at MB2 Dental, which provides support to more than 500 dental practices in 41 states. His mornings start with questions from dentists on the East Coast offices on payroll taxes and the day ends with doctors in California asking about California’s Covid paid sick leave law. Plus, he implemented a process that allows him to get involved early when conflicts arise between the dentists and patients and insurance providers, which helped avoid scores of lawsuits.
“I’m the fixer of the legal department, so I usually hear from people on their bad days,” Koh said. He is also a finalist for the 2022 DFW Corporate Counsel Award for Senior Counsel of the Year for a Small Legal Department.
Litigation Roundup: Fluor Beats Class Action While Six Flags Sees Class Claims Revived
In this edition of Litigation Roundup, Fluor beats back class action lawsuit brought by retirement plan participants, a jury in Houston finds there was no infringement of a patent covering a tool used in oil and gas drilling and the Fifth Circuit revives a proposed class action against Six Flags.
Appellate 2022 Year in Review: SCOTX and the Fifth Circuit
The Fifth Circuit and Texas Supreme Court.issued important precedents in 2022. The Fifth Circuit clarified the standard for a conditional-refusal-to-deal theory under Section 2 of the Sherman Act, established that arbitration rules incorporated into an arbitration agreement control the question of whether arbitration happened and sent a clear signal that the Seventh Amendment attaches to traditionally common-law prosecutions. The Texas Supreme Court provided guidance on the scope of a waiver of claims in a settlement agreement, clarified substantial compliance with contractual notice provisions, rejected informal fiduciary duties to an individual shareholder in a closely held corporation and narrowed the availability of consequential damages. This article examines those and other rulings of significance by the appellate courts.
Q&A: Juli Greenberg of General Motors
Julie Greenberg visited with Texas Lawbook pro bono, public service and diversity and inclusion reporter Natalie Posgate about the biggest challenges facing corporate legal departments and law firms regarding diversity, which diversity programs she thinks are effective and the significance of the pipeline.
For GM’s Juli Greenberg, DEI is ‘Part of her DNA’
General Motors counsel Juli Greenberg was sitting in a conference room in 2018 getting CLE ethics credit when everything changed. What she learned sent her on a quest to create DEI initiatives and do her part to improve the diversity pipeline in the legal profession.
Fast forward nearly five years, and the product of Greenberg’s work has reached hundreds of people from every stage of the pipeline. She’s also the recipient of the 2022 DFW Corporate Counsel Award for Achievement in Diversity and Inclusion.
Forney Corp.’s Chelsea Casiano’s ‘Attention to Detail is Impeccable’
Only three years out of law school at the University of North Texas, Chelsea Casiano is the general counsel of the Forney Corporation, a 95-year-old Addison-based manufacturer of front-end combustion components. In 2022, she negotiated more than 100 contracts, implemented a new signature designation policy, updated the company’s noncompete agreements and wrote the business’ new human rights policy to regulate compliance internally and to set expectations for its suppliers and vendors.
“Chelsea has been amazing,” said Forney CEO Tom Demrick. Casiano is also a finalist for the 2022 DFW Corporate Counsel Award for Rookie of the Year, which goes to lawyers who have been in-house counsel for three years or less.
Texas M&A in 2022: ‘Halting, Cautious…and Busy’
2023 was a year of contrasts: deals were up, but values were down; interest rates were up, but the energy sector was vibrant; dealmakers were cautious, but their lawyers were busy, busy, busy. The Corporate Deal Tracker has the year-end tally and analyses by our Texas experts from every corner of the market.
Q&A: Chelsea Casiano, Forney GC
Premium Subscriber Content: A Q&A with Forney GC Cheslea Casiano, who discusses how she hires outside counsel and negotiates rates, her pro bono efforts and the day last September when she had to be rushed to the emergency room.